


Acknowledging

by Atanih88



Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M, Romance, Slash, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-28
Updated: 2010-10-28
Packaged: 2017-10-12 22:44:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/129930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atanih88/pseuds/Atanih88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which a different type of relationship is acknowledged.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Acknowledging

**Author's Note:**

> Written for LJ's springkink, for this this prompt - Byakuya/Renji; possessiveness/ jealousy (real or imagined) – "I do not share"

Renji closed the door behind him, locking out the rush of feet on the wood boards outside it.

It was like the air inside the damn office had just gotten thinner.

Still, he didn't move to his desk and the stack of papers waiting there for him. He stayed exactly where he was, his back pressed against the door and his shoulders straight. He looked at Byakuya, who sat in his seat, not even looking up when Renji entered. He was writing, the pen in his hand moving in a continuous fluid motion. His back was straight against the back of the chair and for a moment Renji's eyes flicked down to the movement, following the end of the pen as it moved in the graceful fingers.

The heat that had infiltrated Seireitei had slipped into the office along with Renji and it made the skin on the back of his neck feel damp even though his hair was up.

"You're late Renji."

Renji's eyes jumped up from the pen to focus on Byakuya's face. Not that Byakuya was looking up. His attention was still on the paper in front of him. It pissed Renji off. It was one of the things about his Captain that got to him like nothing else. The way that he didn't seem to acknowledge anyone even despite people had proven time and time again, that they were more than worth that acknowledgment.

"I apologise. Captain." The pause in his apology was deliberate, a small slip into insubordination as it took any regret out of the apology. But at least it got Renji something.

Byakuya's hand stopped moving and he lifted calm silver eyes to settle on Renji, easing back in his chair as he did so. Black strands slipped back, the tips settling against the ivory of the scarf wrapped around Byakuya's throat.

Not the original one, Renji knew. The original was folded neatly after having been washed and an attempted return of it thwarted. It now lay in his cupboard, undisturbed since the time it had been placed there. The smell of it was right in the room with them. A small quiet scent that brought to mind blooming sakura and ice – something that hadn't faded from it even after it had been coated in Renji's blood and washed with cheap soap after. Somehow it had remained.

"Perhaps your apology would be better appreciated if you made an effort to reach your desk and begin your work." Those cold eyes flicked back down to the papers in front of him and the pen began moving again. "There has been a rise in hollow activity in the world below and the paperwork should not fall behind."

Renji tightened his mouth, feeling the usual resentment flaring in the pit of his stomach. His work had been of a consistently high standard and Byakuya had no reasons for complaints but there were always certain comments—the way they were phrased somehow implying that the opposite was true.

It was that same touch of resentment that had Renji lingering where he stood for a few seconds longer, drawing himself taller, shoulders straight and he kept on staring at Byakuya until finally after a few beats of silence, Byakuya glanced up again.

This time he didn't speak, his expression didn't change. He just stared back.

It was that feeling, the need to show Byakuya that he didn't back down—he didn't want to back down—that made Renji slide his eyes down Byakuya's face to stop on his mouth, not bothering to disguise what he was doing. He wanted Byakuya to _know_.

If this was going to continue, then why bother pretending he didn't know what this is about.

And Renji felt a curl of satisfaction as the slightest hint of a frown twisted Byakuya's mouth—but it was so subtle Renji wasn't sure he had seen anything at all. But that low hum of satisfaction was there, buzzing along the line of his spine and Renji turned away, taking his time in getting to his desk and aware that Byakuya watched him every step of the way.

~

Renji had asked. Again.

And again—Byakuya had said no.

So Renji came to the conclusion that if there was no acknowledgement of what was there, then there was nothing there.

It had just been the once.

Just that one moment where Renji had allowed himself the recklessness of grabbing the back of the elegant pale neck and given in to the _bitching_ itch of a need to plant his mouth on Byakuya's.

His bottom lip had been torn, bleeding a little after. The blood had lingered on his tongue, clinging and bitter. And just beneath that, the faintest taste of mint tea that didn't belong to Renji. Renji had wiped the slight glimmer of blood on his bottom lip with his thumb, eyes still locked on Byakuya's mouth.

It had looked different after the kiss. Bruised and swollen.

Then Byakuya's hand that had shot for his neck and forced him back into the wall with a strength that one wouldn't think existed from looking at those pretty fingers. Byakuya's warm breath had poured into his ear and Renji had shuddered against the wall. At the closeness. At the violence. He wasn't sure which had affected him more.

"Do _not_ over step your place, Abarai."

The mark of Byakuya's hand on his neck had stayed on him a lot longer than the taste of mint had.

Maybe he should've seen then that that was as far as this could go.

~

The silence had remained for the rest of the work day. It had stayed when Renji had left for lunch. He hadn't even excused himself. The freezing silence coating the other side of the room continued to play with the resentment still dancing around in his stomach and so Renji left for the afternoon without once looking back at his Captain.

There was an inexplicable urge to make the man _care_. But then all Renji was left with when he got back to the office was that same resentment, when he found his Captain gone for the day, his paperwork in a neat stack on Renji's desk.

Renji stood there for a few moments, the door open and the sun warming his back.

His hand clenched the hard wood of the door it was holding onto and it dug into the web of skin between his thumb and forefinger hard enough that it felt like it might rip.

Then he turned his back on the room and slammed the door shut behind him.

 _Fuck this._

~

It had been two weeks since Renji kissed Byakuya.

~

Renji twisted round to glare at Ikkaku, his back still feeling the hard slap that the other man had delivered to it. He shook his head and turned back to the sake, knocking it back and then pouring some more. It had been a shitty day.

Hollows had been shitty, paperwork had been shitty—walking in on Rukia and Ichigo sucking face had been shitty—and going back to an office that lately felt like it was made of fucking ice, had been the shit of all shit. So, he'd ended up here.

A few seats away Hitsugaya was sitting with his arms crossed, easily ignoring the cleavage that was just inches away from his face. He was probably one of the few of the male sex in Seireitei who could be that close to Rangiku's breasts and not drool all over them. Maybe immunity came with the amount of time he spent with her so they weren't so appealing to him.

Renji himself sat between Ikkaku and Yumichika. Hisagi and Kira sat across from them, deep in conversation and going through their drinks a lot slower than the rest of them were.

"You're acting like a little bitch." Ikkaku said, tipped his head back and drank the rest of his sake. He scratched at his chest, hand burrowing deep inside his kimono as he hitched one knee up higher and closer to his chest.

On Renji's other side Yumichika sighed. "Well, it's... unfortunate. The man is certainly attractive," as he said the word 'attractive' his entire face twisted as if he found it physically painful to admit that about someone else. "Unfortunately," he gave Renji a sly smile and fluttered his eyelashes, "you picked the ice prick of Seiretei Renji. You don't really make life easy for yourself do you?"

Renji frowned down at his drink. "I didn't pick anything." He muttered and downed the newly filled cup down.

"Hmmm..." Yumichika came closer and when he hooked his arm over Renji's shoulder and rested his chin on it, Renji looked at him, an eyebrow asked in question. He already had the bottle of sake and his cup in hand again, ready to pour. "If it's just curiosity, then I'm sure Ikkaku and I can give you a hand..." Then Yumichika smiled, the smile a mere suggestive curve of his mouth.

Renji forgot he was holding the sake and turned to stare at Ikkaku as a lot of things that he'd always found odd about their relationship clicked into place. He knew he probably looked like an idiot. His eyes were starting to sting from how wide he had them open after a few seconds as he stared in shock at Ikkaku, who from the looks of it didn't seem all that bothered by Yumichika's suggestion or what it implied.

Ikkaku just poured himself some more sake and shrugged.

Renji dropped his gaze, staring at the bottle of sake for a few seconds.

The fucking silences were just getting him more and more pissed off by the day and there would just be more of it tomorrow. And he was in the mood to try new things—hadn't gotten laid in months and had been dealing with the horniness by himself: something which had just gotten worse in the past few weeks, leaving him frustrated and angrier at the situation.

Renji looked up and set his cup on the tatami mat but the bottle of sake remained firmly in his grasp as he looked up and smiled.

~

Two weeks and a day.

~

The morning sun felt like it was stabbing little tiny pins into his eyes, Renji had to shield them with his hand to try and reduce the amount of light slapping him right on the face as he walked to the office.

The sounds around him were louder than usual and every hello he got from one of his colleagues put a a wince in the smile of greeting he tried to give them. In the end Renji just gave up and nodded at them in return. Only nodding wasn't such a good idea either because it felt as if when he did, a handful of marbles had been released and were jumping around, knocking at the inside of his head and the vibrations of it were reaching his ears, pressing uncomfortably on his ear drums only for all of it to shoot up to his temples and embed itself there.

He'd had too much. Well. The three of them had had too much.

It had been an interesting night. If Renji managed to get past the hammering in his head then he could focus on the aches that stood out more. It had gotten rough the night before, unexpectedly from Yumichika's side more than Ikkaku's. Ikkaku had been, in a word, patient. It had left Renji a little disorientated and that had given them more than enough time to play their number on him.

But it'd been good.

"Shit." He muttered, rubbing at his eyes as he greeted yet another person from his division. He didn't really need to look to know where he was going. His feet tapped out a fast rhythm on the wood beneath them as he hurried a bit faster towards the office.

Despite the hang over though, Renji realised that he hadn't felt this loose in months. There was no tension in him—although that was probably a result of how many times those two bastards had made him come the night before. Like he'd said, it'd been good. Really good.

Renji finally stopped in front of his and his Captain's office and rubbed his eyes a little harder.

When he slid the door open he was greeted by the usual sound of the scritch of pen on paper. Byakuya was sitting at his desk, his back straight, his head bent over the paperwork in front of him.

"Morning." Renji muttered, not in the mood to issue what had become his usual challenge now—one which always resulted in awkward silence that helped the situation even less. Today though, he was too tired; tired and sated and hung-over all in one. The sooner he got his work finished the sooner he could head home and just flop down on his bed.

"The newest additions to the 6th Division are to be taken to 4th Division for basic healing training," Byakuya said, his voice alone making the room seem colder, "I expect you to supervise their performance. I'd like a report on my desk tomorrow morning. If all goes well we can begin drills and propose new formations."

Renji stopped in front of his desk, hands going to rest on his hips as he let his head fall back and closed his eyes. His teeth dug into his bottom lip as he—barely—managed to keep the curse down.

No sleep then.

"Yes Captain." He gritted out.

Asshole was doing it on purpose.

Grinding his teeth without even realising it, Renji rounded the desk to his seat, his head still ringing with every step he took and making him wince as he sank into his seat and surveyed the new pile of papers on his desk with dread.

Renji had already reached for the first batch when he realised that Byakuya was looking his way. Renji turned to see what he was looking at, fully expecting to find Byakuya's gaze on his face or his uniform—the kimono and hakama he'd just yanked out of Ikkaku's place and Ikkaku was taller. But Byakuya's gaze wasn't on his face or on his clothes. He was staring at Renji's neck.

"Captain..."

Silver eyes flicked up, narrowed on Renji's face for a second before Byakuya's expression smoothed out completely.

"I'd suggest you hurry," Byakuya turned away, finishing writing with an elegant flick of his fingers and picking up the paper and placing it atop the pile waiting to the right of his hand before reaching for another, "I don't think the new recruits will wish to wait all afternoon for you Abarai."

The irritation was already beginning to set, when Renji remembered again, Yumichika's enthusiasm the night before—the stinging bites to his neck.

He stared at Byakuya as the man went back to work and this time, the resentment didn't rise.

Renji swallowed and forced himself to look away. All he could manage though was just an unfocused sort of attention, looking at the words on the papers but not registering any of them.

He was pretty sure a shift in the mood between them had happened but it didn't feel to him like it was one for the better.

Renji reached for his pen, fingers slow and dull as he replayed in his head that quick narrowing of Byakuya's eyes when they'd landed on his throat.

The sharp stab of arousal in his stomach though, just pissed him off.

Falling into a foul mood, Renji began his work.

~

The summons came four days later and on Renji's day off.

For those four days, Byakuya had been away from the office in Clan meetings.

Renji had had the entire office to himself and there hadn't been the constant presence of an ice prick there to ruin his moods. Except it had. His Captain hadn't bothered to tell Renji himself and had instead passed on the message through Rikichi. So no. Being woken up at five am in the morning because Byakuya had decided to summon him was not something that Renji felt all that great about.

He showed up there anyway at six on the dot. The damn birds sung around him all the way from his place to the Kuchiki residence.

It was an odd situation. Renji had been to the Kuchiki mansion before but that had always been at Rukia's invitation and well—to _see_ Rukia. Byakuya set clear rules, where work and personal affairs did not mix and so Renji had never been there to see him. In fact, the times he had been to the Kuchiki household, his Captain had never been present. So when he arrived and was lead into a room in which tea had been set out and looked to be more expensive than everything Renji owned, Renji found himself in the uncomfortable position of being treated as a guest by one of the servants. The attentiveness did nothing to put him at ease.

"Kuchiki-sama will be along in a few moments," the woman bowed, outside the room herself, her head was touching the floor from how low she was bowing, "please help yourself to some tea and do not hesitate to call for me if you require anything else."

"Er," Renji blinked from her to the tea set out in front of him, then back at her again, "yeah—thanks..."

The woman bowed one more time before sliding the doors closed. A few seconds later Renji heard her footsteps getting further away as she walked back down the corridor. It left him alone in the room with nothing but silence, like an entire world had been closed off and left him in the fancy room that just made him feel out of place.

It took more than 'a few moments' for Byakuya to appear, but when he did Renji couldn't really make himself comment on it—because it was a surprise seeing Byakuya outside of his uniform and the office. It left Renji confused for a moment and all he could do was stare stupidly up at Byakuya as he stepped inside the room and slid the doors closed behind him with a quiet shhhhh. Then he turned his attention to Renji, not moving away from the door as he stared at him.

The light blue kimono suited him. It looked good against Byakuya's pale skin and still contrasted the black hair that fell soft onto it.

"Thank you for waiting." Byakuya said, moving past Renji to sit on the other side of the small table where the maid had set out the tea. Renji shifted in his seat, his attention briefly distracted when Byakuya reached for the tea himself to pour some. "You're not having any tea." Byakuya commented, pouring some for himself.

Renji shook his head slowly, watching the liquid spill into the cup and the steam rising from it to twist up into the air before disappearing. "No... thanks..."

Byakuya nodded and then placed the tea back, cupping his hands around the cup and lifting it to his mouth.

The scent of mint had burst into the room when Byakuya poured and now as Renji watched him drink he was reminded again of what had started this stupid situation to begin with.

"Was there something wrong with the reports, or an urgent matter or something?" Renji asked, wrenching his gaze away and looking to his side. He'd just seen the hint of a pink tongue lap up any moisture that had lingered on Byakuya's lip and he felt that jerk in his lower stomach again.

"No." Byakuya set the tea cup in its saucer and then set that on the table before looking Renji right in the eye. "This is my home and as such I do not bring work matters into it."

Renji frowned at him. Then why the hell am I here? That's what Renji wanted to ask; especially since he'd been summoned at these stupid hours of the morning on his day off.

"You are here so that we can address this ridiculous situation."

Renji stiffened but didn't back down from the cold eyes staring him right in the face.

"I'd like to remind you that it was you who started this." Byakuya continued his voice steady and still as expressionless as always. Until it flicked down to Renji's throat where Renji knew some of the bites from earlier that week were still visible.

Renji watched as Byakuya's mouth tightened—the small change almost imperceptible but he saw it. And then Byakuya's lashes were sweeping down, his eyes closing for a moment in perfect composure as he reached for one of the white napkins which had also been laid on the tray and dabbed it carefully to his mouth.

"Remove your clothes."

Renji stared at him, body frozen to the spot at the command and in the back of his head he wondered if he'd just heard wrong. But when he made no move to do as he'd been told, Byakuya arched an eyebrow, the first shift in his expression since he'd come into the room.

"Of course you're welcome to leave. But know that this won't happen again."

It wasn't that Renji didn't want it. It was that there had been almost no indication of this in the weeks since. Although—the kiss he'd planted on Byakuya a few weeks earlier hadn't been entirely one sided. Yes Byakuya had never kissed him back, but he hadn't shoved Renji off of him either. The rejection had only occurred after the kiss had already taken place. This was still a bit much to take in though. It was early morning when most of Seireitei were probably still sleeping and he was sitting in what was obviously a meant for guests. And Byakuya was telling him to strip.

Byakuya's face returned to being blank and he rose to his feet in one graceful move, kimono still perfect. He turned his back on Renji and began making his way to the door.

"Very well then."

It wasn't something he meant to do—but Byakuya's hand was already on the door, ready to slide it open and step outside. So when Renji snapped his arm out and grabbed onto Byakuya's sleeve, he was only thinking to stop him. He didn't realise however as he ended up pinned to the tatami mat with a hand around his throat—again—what exactly that might've led to.

"I have told you before, not to over step your place... Renji." Byakuya said. Renji could feel the warm air from those words breathed against his cheek. He couldn't see him, but strands of his hair had fallen across Renji's face, clinging to his lips while the others had slipped down over his chin and tickled his neck.

"Shit—" it was the only thing he managed to choke out; the hand locked around his throat was tight enough that Renji had to make a bit of an effort to breathe properly. He had his own hand wrapped around Byakuya's wrist as if holding it off but in reality doing nothing but gripping it.

Then the tie on his hair was gone, pulled off by slim fingers and then they were clenching in his hair, right at his scalp and tugging, the pain sharp and making Renji hiss and arch his neck back.

"Language..." the word was murmured against Renji's temple but the grip didn't ease. And the hand that had pinning him by the neck slid away, fingers losing their stiffness and sliding past his collar bones, blunt nails tracing red lines across his skin as they slid down over his chest and beneath his kimono. Renji's eyes were locked on the ceiling. He swallowed; his jaw working as he felt the strain of having his neck bent back at such an angle.

The smell though—that smell was all over him. Maybe it was the hair against his face, or the body so close to his.

He swallowed again and let go of Byakuya's wrist to reach for him and pull him closer. He really wanted closer right now. But no sooner had he made the move than Byakuya caught his wrist and pinned it down over his head.

Renji snapped his head around, eyes narrowed as irritation and anger began to bubble up, mingling with the arousal. Byakuya turned to look at him too.

"Is there a problem?" He asked.

"My wrist. Let it go."

"I'm sure you could remove my grip yourself."

"Yeah—" he grunted, glaring at him now, "I can." He yanked his wrist out from beneath Byakuya's and did what he'd wanted to do for a long time. Byakuya's ass was right in his hand, firm and perfect and it made him groan; made him hard but no sooner had he tried to haul Byakuya closer, the hand in his hair was twisting, tugging, pushing so that Renji had no choice but to turn his face. Then when Byakuya used the hand on his chest as well, Renji turned his whole body until he was on his front and Byakuya was kneeling behind him.

Teeth scraped the side of his neck and Renji's mouth sagged open.

This was completely different from what had happened with Yumichika and Ikkaku.

His mouth felt dry and the hardness he could feel pressing against his thigh made him want to press himself to Byakuya completely and grind himself to orgasm against him. He wanted to do that while his mouth was buried in Byakuya's neck; while his nose was tucked into the spot just behind his ear and pulling in his scent as Renji came.

The hand on his chest moved down and Byakuya was pressing himself against Renji's back now, his warmth slipping through Renji's clothes and making him shudder just as he slipped his hand through the gap of Renji's hakama and closed around his erection. Renji went rigid and his fists clenched where they were pressed to the floor. Lips closed on the nape of his neck—his hair having been brushed over his shoulder. There was a sharp sting and Renji reached back, mimicking Byakuya's earlier gesture and gripping the smooth strands of Byakuya's hair in a hard grasp.

Renji tugged him around, hearing the hiss before he slammed his mouth into Byakuya's, the move clumsy and desperate as he shoved a hand down alongside Byakuya's and curled Byakuya's hand tighter around his own erection.

His tongue was in Byakuya's mouth and that smell was all over him now—the same smell that clung to the scarf folded neatly in his own home.

"Shit—shit—shit..." he muttered it against Byakuya's mouth as he thrust his hips into the grip, ignoring the dryness of Byakuya's hand, knowing he'd probably feel sore as fuck afterwards but it felt so _good_.

But then Byakuya was yanking his head back again and landing a bite right there—he thrust against Renji's thigh sporadically and his teeth sank into his neck harder with every thrust. Renji's was skin sucked on, pulled on by a hot tongue and Renji made Byakuya tighten his fingers on him even more. A thumb swept over the slit of his head, smudging the moisture over it and his stomach clenched hard. It felt almost painful as he doubled over, ignoring the grip on his hair, his forehead wrinkling, eyebrows slashing down as he groaned and came into his and Byakuya's hand.

Byakuya took his hand away and Renji felt him wiping it against Renji's thigh as he drew back from him. But Renji reached over for him, fingers feeling weak from the force of his orgasm and caught Byakuya's wrist. He pushed himself to his knees with some effort and wrapping his arm around Byakuya's waist jerked him close—burying his face against his neck and pulling him closer by placing his hands on his ass and encouraging him to thrust against him.

"Come on Captain—" Renji said, voice unexpectedly hoarse and pushed himself against Byakuya even though his cock felt over sensitised from having just come.

He was rewarded when Byakuya moved against him, not making the slightest noise as Renji kneaded his buttocks, wanting to feel it as much as he could, not getting enough of it—of Byakuya and kissing the man's neck, short, quick kisses with a hint of teeth—until finally Byakuya thrust against Renji one last time, hard, and came with a single hitch to his breath that Renji found so fucking hot. He was pretty sure that sound alone seared itself into his mind.

They stayed like that for a few seconds, not quite still—their bodies still trembling a little.

Of course, Byakuya was the first to move away, pushing Renji away from him and standing, his hands righting the kimono.

Renji stayed where he was, still catching his breath, his heart slowing its beat against his chest as he stared up at Byakuya's face and found himself unwilling to look away from the silvery eyes staring right back at him.

Without another word, Byakuya turned his back on Renji and began walking back to the door, leaving Renji to stare after him stupidly.

Byakuya slid the door open and without looking back at Renji he spoke. "I do not share. It would be wise for you to remember that." And with that, he stepped outside and pulled the door closed behind him.

Renji remained there. Stunned. He fell back on the floor and went back to staring at the ceiling. His clothes were completely messed up and he had to go home before the maid came back in and saw him like this.

He stared at the ceiling some more. He had no clue as to what had just happened. But it seemed that maybe it had been acknowledged after all.

Flinging an arm over his eyes, he shook his head and let out a long breath. "The bastard..."

 _' I do not share.'_

Official. Yeah. It had been made official.

And Renji laughed.


End file.
